On the face of it, there have been outlandish comments about how the LTTE ravaged Sri Lanka want better security cover for their cricket team. But perhaps few things are a bigger worry than gathered crowds. The terrorists have shown it is their favourite kind of target. And nothing can be a more frightening proposition than a packed stadium where not everyone is a spectator of the game.
The ghastly reminder of the 26/11 only gave way to a terrible fiasco during the Sri Lankan tour of Pakistan when the bus ferrying the Sri Lankan cricketers to the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore came under attack from merciless terrorists.
Wounded cricketers such as Thilan Samaraweera, shuddering umpires, even indignant ones such as Australia’s Simon Taufel and match referee in England’s Chris Broad and an injured home umpire in Hasan Raza marked a gruesome morning of 3/3 earlier this year.
With the timing of the Sri Lankan team in India around the November attacks in Mumbai and having been through it first hand in Pakistan, naturally the Sri Lankan team is wary of any lapse in security.
Nothing can be a nightmare than monitoring the vast cricket loving crowds that turn up in hoardes for the matches. While for the sake of a couple of strays, thousands are put through the drills, but it is not prevent a mass attack that is a nightmare even to imagine.
It leaves one feeling very hollow when one hears comments from Imran Khan that cricketers would never be attacked. Who are we kidding?
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Cork Changes His Mind, Refuses to Step Foot on Pak Soil
Lorgat Expresses Dismay; Calls Off Series
Life Before Sport: India Won On a Day when Cricket Lost
Attack on Sri Lankan Cricketers: Conflicting Motives
Morgan, Pawar Rule Out 2011 World Cup in Pakistan
Umpire Taufel Appalled by Security Lapse
CSA, Smith Extend Sympathy for Lahore Horror
S&T Special Part 1: Murali Alleges “Inside Job”, Umpires have Queries of Their Own
S&T Special Part 2: Lahore aftermath: who is to blame for ignoring the signals
